


Something in the Water

by Meruchan0720



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M, Merman Makoto, merman
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-27
Updated: 2014-06-23
Packaged: 2017-12-24 19:31:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/943801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meruchan0720/pseuds/Meruchan0720
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which there is something more to Makoto's fear than what his friends could only begin to imagine and the words "something in the water" takes a whole new meaning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Little Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: So I'm new to the Free! Fandom and I've fallen in love with Makoto the first time I saw him so this is mostly about him. This chapter is a prologue and comes after episode 6. It will probably not follow the succeeding episodes.
> 
> Soundtrack: Is it surprising that I was watching the Little Mermaid?

**PROLOGUE~**

Tachibana Nami sat by the open windows, warm sunlight and a gentle, ocean-scented breeze washing over her as she stared lifelessly outside, unaware of her husband's approach until he knelt by her feet and took her hands in his, looking up at her and willing her to turn to him.

"Nami, please don't do this to yourself. It's going to be all right, you'll see," he whispered pleadingly as he tightened his grasp on her hands. He paused as she flinched and her eyes began to well with tears, her bottom lip trembling as she bit it hard enough to break the skin. A lone tear fell down her cheek and he lifted his hand to cup her cheek and wipe it away with his thumb. "Maybe now is just not the right time."

"Then when?" she asked, her voice breaking and her shoulders shaking as she finally turned her face to his and the tears began to fall in earnest. "We've been trying so hard and the doctors said that I… that we…"

She couldn't begin to say it and she shut her eyes, shaking her head in denial. She began to sob and he took her in his arms, feeling her cries like a stab on his heart as he held her as tight as he could to offer her as much comfort as he could give.

He could feel the tears in his own eyes well up as she held onto him. He wanted the same thing she wanted, wanted it for the whole five years of their marriage. "Doctors," he started, swallowing the thick lump in his throat, "doctors aren't always right, love. Let's just take it easy then we'll try something else."

"You don't get it!" she cried out, pushing him away, her face a mask of sorrow and anger because it was unfair. It was so unfair that this had to happen to her. "You just don't get it," she whispered brokenly. "We can't have a baby, Yuuji. We'll never have a baby!"

She broke away from him and ran out and he could see her go towards the beach from the windows, her bare feet making deep imprints on the white sand. She disappeared beyond the large rocks and Yuuji knew to leave her alone for now.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

Nami ran as fast as her legs could carry her to the old cave past their house. She didn't mind the waves crashing on her legs, the way it soaked her dress and the ends of her shawl and almost made her fall. She didn't care about the little rocks and shells she stepped on, how it could have cut her feet. All that mattered was the deep, suffocating pain in her chest as she tried so hard to reconcile the fact that she would never have a child of her own.

They had been trying for the past five years. They were so eager, so excited to have a little one of their own to cherish and to love with all their hearts. They've tried everything within their means they could think of to have a baby but nothing worked and she was just so tired, so frustrated with herself and she couldn't take it anymore. It broke her spirit each time they tried and failed.

Breathing hard and fast, her heart hammering in her chest and her blood pounding in her ears, she reached her cave. In this cave she spent most of her childhood with her grandfather who told her stories about the sea, of its mysteries, its dangers. This place was something familiar, something soothing. It would not make her accept how her life would be immediately or extensively, but it was a start.

Carefully she walked in. The mouth of the cave faced the sea, with a splatter of rocks of varying sizes, rounded and smooth from the constant crashing of waves. The tide had waned enough that the water level barely reached her knees and lightly touched the hem of her dress. Thin beams of sunlight fell from the ceiling and touched the water, reflecting constantly moving webs of light on the ceiling.

It was and had always been her sanctuary since she was a little girl. This cave was witness to every joyful memory and every sorrowful heartbreak she experienced. It knew her secrets like a friend. It was weird to some but it always felt as if her grandfather's spirit lived there, offering her comfort through the sounds of the waves and the rush of wind.

She sat down on one of the smooth rocks, feet dangling in the water as she took a deep breath. Looking out through the mouth of the cave, she felt the guilt roil inside her, ugly and suffocating. She shouldn't have blown up at Yuuji, shouldn't have taken out her frustration and her anger at him when she knew he was suffering just as much as her.

She had to apologize to him but she'd do it once she leaves the cave. She just needed a little time to herself to begin coming to terms with what could never be. So she might never have children of her own, but they could always adopt, couldn't they?It might take a while – an adoption was often a very long process and very seldom do parents get approved for them but they were willing to wait. They already have for five years.

She paused in thought, looking around her. She thought she heard something.

A little whimper and the sound of crying had her instantly on her feet, her heart pounding as she realized that she wasn't alone. She began to search around the rocks and found the source of the sounds, the cries tugging at her heart as she instantly melted, falling to her knees to take the squalling infant in her arms.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

"Yuuji! Yuuji! Yuuji, look!" The glee in Nami's voice, the tears within her giggles as she called out to him made him run to the front of the house where he saw her holding a small bundle. There was a light in her eyes that he had not seen for a very long time and it made him want to smile and laugh with her. "Yuuji, look at who I found! Just look at him!"

That statement caused him to pause and his eyes fell again on the bundle that just moved. "Nami? What… what is that?"

"Not what, Yuuji, who!" she said and Yuuji wanted to think that his wife had not lost her mind in the space of an hour since her departure. "Come and see! I found him in the cave! The poor thing was left there on his own."

He slowly, almost cautiously, went closer and when Nami realized that he was taking too long, she went to him and showed her what she held. There it – no, he – was. A healthy-looking, little baby boy, sleeping peacefully in his wife's arms liked he was born to be there. Tufts of hair in an unusual shade of green and brown stood in all directions on his head, his forehead scrunched up as if he was thinking about something in his sleep.

Yuuji couldn't help but touch the little one's forehead, falling hopelessly in love with a baby that was not his flesh and blood as his forehead smoothed out and he let out a breathy little sigh. He didn't know if this was because he'd been yearning for a baby himself but it was almost impossible to draw himself away especially when the little one opened one bleary little eye and it was the most remarkable shade of green he'd ever seen.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Nami asked though she knew perfectly well what his answer would be.

Yuuji tried to clear his thoughts because as much as they were quickly growing to adore this baby, it was not theirs and he could have parents who were looking for him. For some reason, he felt his heart break at that thought. "Where did you say you found him?" he asked.

"In the cave and he was all alone, Yuuji," she said gravely, anger in her eyes. "Somebody left him there and I don't know if it's on purpose because the town knows how high the water goes in that cave. If I hadn't been there, the tide would have set in and no one would know he was there. He could have drowned."

Terror filled her now that she thought about it and fury immediately set in as soon as she realized that someone had left a baby there on purpose. Didn't they know how lucky they were?

"I know what you're thinking but we can't keep him, Nami," her husband murmured softly, slmost reluctantly. "He probably has his parents looking for him."

"How – How could you even think about returning him?! They left him in a cave, Yuuji! Where he could have died!"

Yuuji shook his head sadly. "We don't know that. We can't deprive him of his real parents."

Her shoulders drooped and she hung her head, looking at the baby who started to fuss with all the noise. With a new batch of tears welling in her eyes, she began to hum a lullaby, gently swaying as her voice breaks with the effort not to cry.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

It was the most stressful and gruelling three years but they were time well spent as the day finally came. After a very long process, Tachibana Yuuji and Tachibana Nami were finally the proud parents of little Makoto and would finally take him home.

**Fourteen years later...**

"Tadaima," Makoto greeted as he opened the front door, bracing himself as his younger siblings tackled and climbed all over him, squealing and laughing as they bombarded him with questions, Ran draped over his back and Ren dangling around his neck.

He smiled as he answered their questions patiently, stopping only when their mother playfully scolded them to let their brother rest before interrogating him. They pouted as they let him go and he had to promise to tell them what happened before they went to bed tonight. With beaming smiles, they skipped over to the kitchen to see what their mother was cooking.

He put his things by the door, promising to take care of them later and sat down at the table. He took a deep breath and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as he welcomed the exhaustion and the sense of familiarity. The sound of his mother puttering about the house, the twins running around and bickering, his father's laughter seemed to wash over him and made the events in the training camp seem like a dream. He was finally home.

"Come on, you two, time to buy something special for dessert now that nii-chan is back," he heard his father say followed by twin yells of "ice cream!" and "cake!". A loud pair of footsteps dashed around him followed by another scolding and his father chuckled as he followed the twins at a more sedate pace.

Ah, silence. He loved his siblings to bits but sometimes, they were just so energetic that he couldn't keep up with them anymore.

"Makoto-chan, you have the tub for yourself tonight. So go and have a little dip while Ren and Ran are away," his mother said as soon as his father drove out of sight, reaching down to pat his cheek. "Your father won't be home for a while so I'll bring you a little snack in a bit."

He smiled at her before pulling himself up to go upstairs to the bathroom. The tub was a lot bigger than the one in Haru's house, easily fitting someone with Makoto's height and build. It wasn't easy to look for a house with this kind of tub and it was precisely the reason why his parents chose to buy this house in the first place. It was already filled with water and he could see Haru in his mind's eye diving straight into it. He had nearly done the same, too, the last time he slept over and Makoto had to hold him before he bashed his head at the bottom of the tub.

He took his clothes off and folded them neatly, placing them in the laundry hamper. With a little more eagerness than he'd care to admit, he went into the tub, sloshing a bit of the water to the tiled floor. He sat down and leaned back until he was up to his neck in water, sighing in relief. He felt the tension in his shoulders melt away as he submerges himself fully, keeping himself underwater till his lungs ached for air, forcing the change.

He felt the throb at his sides, the burn as skin split, three diagonal slashes along his ribs that didn't bleed but expanded as water passed in and out. After the initial burn, everything else came crashing down, like a band-aid that was ripped off a wound. The dull, familiar pain of scales pushing through skin, of muscles melding and of bones rearranging themselves – it was a pain that he had long grown used to.

He opened his eyes and looked down, to where there was a single, thick tail covered in green scales, lighter along his hips and growing darker down its length, a smattering of black splotches here and there. His tailfin was a translucent green, unfurled and seemingly delicate, gently swaying in the water and brushing near the surface.

Not for the first time, he considered sneaking into the pool at school just so he could stretch his tail out and swim properly but there was just too much risk of getting caught. One of these days maybe, he thought.

When he looked up, he could see his mother's face, smiling down at him, urging him to sit up as she sat down at the edge of the tub with a small tray in her lap. On the tray was a little bowl of fruit and a glass of water.

"How was your trip?" she asked as she speared a chunk of apple with his fork, handing it to him. She didn't flinch as his fingers closed on the fork, not minding the dusting of green scales along his hand and the green webbing between his fingers.

Lots of things happened during the trip and he didn't know where to start. He wanted to avoid talking about it all if he was honest but his mother had a way of making him talk without even trying.

"Makoto-chan, is there something wrong?"

The storm played in his mind. Of Rei struggling on the water's surface as waves tumbled over him and pushed him down until he was gone. The sky had been dark, the rain pelted his face mercilessly, the waves pushing and pulling him as he struggled to get to him. His sides burned, his legs tingled, the closeness of water was a test of his control. He wanted to change form, it would make rescuing Rei so much easier but he couldn't because suddenly she was there.

She had been floating right behind Rei before he disappeared, almost completely submerged until only her eyes, a bright, glowing green, and the top of her head were visible. She had been staring right at him, staring into his eyes and rendering him almost paralyzed in fear.

She was the one he'd seen that day when the storm came and killed everyone in that boat.

 

**TBC**


	2. Realized Fears

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So, as I said before, this story may not be canon-compliant, considering that there will be a timeskip of more than a few years – I'm not sure about the definite number but... well, you'll see.
> 
> Hope you like it!

_Once when Makoto was four years old, he had nearly been swept away to the ocean. It was the single, most frightening moment in Nami’s life as she looked out the window, watching Makoto play in the sand one second then see him waist-deep in water the next, being led away by a strange woman. He was too young to understand things then and Nami doubted he remembered what happened that day but he had happily followed the stranger – a normal woman as far as her eyes could see – into the water, giggling as he tried to make a grab at her long hair and her milky white hand, her eyes barely visible above water. Nami had never thought she could run so fast in her life, screaming Makoto’s name as she very nearly flew to the beach if she could, the blood pounding in her ears. She stumbled in the water as the woman grabbed her son’s wrist as soon as she saw her coming, tugging him into the open sea._

_She leaped at him in time, catching him by the waist into her arms and pulling until they both stumbled back into the water. She kicked her feet in the wet sand, putting as much distance between her and her son and the stranger until they reached the shore. The woman rose from the water high enough for Nami to see the patches of shining, green scales around her waist and down her hips. Her face was a mask of fury as she let out an unearthly wail, her hair, wet and dark green, clinging to her body in tangled waves._

_She had shut her eyes at the sudden onslaught of sound, tightening her grasp on Makoto despite feeling her ears almost burst. When she looked at Makoto, he didn’t look affected by it like her but he was definitely surprised, bursting into a sob as he buried his face on her chest._

_The woman – mermaid, her mind registered briefly – advanced forward and Nami had thought the creature – because it was clear that she was not human but she was not willing to admit it yet despite the evidence in front of her – was going to attack but she had stopped abruptly as soon as she heard Makoto cry, her green eyes wide. Her fist curled in front of her chest and she looked at Makoto as if he had struck her himself. Uncertainty lingered in her eyes and Nami thought they were a beautiful, almost luminous green before she turned away and disappeared into the water with a slap of green fins on the water’s surface._

_Nami hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath until her lungs began to burn and she eased air from her lips and breathed in as the tension loosened from her shoulders, suddenly feeling exhausted. She turned to her son who was still sobbing and began to fuss over him, looking over him to see if he was alright, despite being wet and frightened._

_“Makoto-chan,” she called softly and he turned to her, tiny, hiccups rocking his slender frame as he wiped the tears in his eyes with his knuckles. He looked up at her, his eyes still blurred with tears and she tried to smile reassuringly at him as she wiped them off his cheeks with the pads of her thumbs. She began to coo at him when his cries would not subside, whispering to him that it was alright as she looked him in the eyes._

_A thought had struck her then as she looked at her son’s tear strained face to the spot the woman – mermaid, her mind insistently supplied – had been and back again before she shook her head in denial. It just couldn’t be… could it?_

_She hadn't told Yuuji what happened that day because she knew he would never believe her. Instead, she cited other_ logical _reasons to leave the house she had grown up in. And after much persuasion, he agreed to move their family out of the house by the beach. She had not told Yuuji what she suspected about their son (not that she needed to when Makoto turned twelve years old) and pushed it to the back of her mind burying the feeling of guilt that had begun to build in her. They had sold the house several months later and bought a new one that was closer to town._

Looking back, Nami should have _known_ but something as fantastical as the existence of mermaids (even now, she felt ridiculous just _thinking_ about it) could not be reconciled in her mind but here was the proof right in front of her, in the guise of the boy she had lovingly raised as her son, sitting thoughtfully in a bathtub with a faraway look in his eyes that always came over him when the mermaid was involved. The guilt remained in her even after thirteen years had passed, a dull pang that she couldn't set aside, and she felt that it was partly her fault why Makoto was so afraid of the ocean and, by extension, his biological mother. She truly wanted to put things to right between them.

When he’d come home today, he looked happy but exhausted and there was a darkness in his eyes that she and her husband noticed the moment he walked through the door. At times like these, Yuuji would drive the twins out for some needed peace and quiet – Ren and Ran were too rambunctious and they didn't know this about their onii-chan – while Nami would take care of Makoto and find out what was troubling him so they could talk about it later. Makoto had always been a very open boy and he was incapable of hiding anything. He was just too expressive that it was not hard to figure out if something was bothering him – that and they were his parents which made them twice as sensitive to their son's distress. It was just a matter of waiting for him to say something.

So she waited, watching him as he he held the fork with the apple frozen halfway to his mouth as he gathered his thoughts. 

He took a deep breath. “I saw her, Kaa-chan.” Nami was unsurprised by this, of course, and waited as he bit into his apple, chewing thoughtfully. “It was already late and there was a storm. Rei was caught in it while he was swimming.”

“Ryugazaki-kun? Why was he _swimming alone outside_?” Fear for his friend seized her. “Is he alright?”

“He's fine. Rei... Rei is a perfectionist,” Makoto started fondly. “He wanted to catch up with the three of us as soon as he could so he practices twice as much. He probably would have been fine if the storm didn't come. It was so unexpected. 

“Nagisa saved him,” he said with a smile and a deprecating laugh at himself. It was a horrible sound in Nami's ears. “I was the first one there, Kaa-chan, and I wanted to save him but I couldn't. I was too scared. When I saw her, I just froze and I couldn't... I couldn't do _anything_ ,” he paused, swallowing. “I couldn't help it, Kaa-chan. I wanted to save Rei but the moment I saw her, I was paralyzed. I know you said she means no harm but I just keep seeing her face and that boat and that storm all over again.

“When I saw her, she was behind Rei and I keep on thinking that the ocean will steal someone I cared for again. I was going to lose him. If it weren't for Haru and Nagisa, Rei would have...,” he choked, unable to say the word, “and I would never forgive myself.”

There was silence and Nami tried to find the words to comfort her son. So, instead of saying anything, she lowered the tray to the floor and knelt by the edge of the tub, pulling him in her arms and giving him a comforting squeeze.

“None of that was your fault, Makoto-chan. What's important is that Ryugazaki-kun is alright and you're alright,” she murmured in his hair as she kissed his temple. “What's important is that all of you are home, safe and sound.” Makoto took a shaky breath and relaxed in her arms. “I know you fear the ocean, Makoto-chan but she... she would _never_ hurt you or your friends. She only wants to meet you, to know you.” He became rigid again but Nami plowed on because she had to make him understand that the ocean and the mermaid were two different things altogether and it broke her heart whenever the mermaid would look at Makoto's pictures as if they were gifts from the gods. “Makoto-chan, please give her a chance. Maybe meeting her and spending time with her will ease your fear of the ocean.”

“But... what if she takes me away?” Makoto asked, his voice small and frightened – so much like the little boy who came to his parents' bedroom because he was afraid of loud noises and ghosts and monsters under the bed. “What if she doesn't let me go home?”

“She won't take you away if that's not what you want,” Nami answered strongly, reassuring him. She pulled away from him and cupped his cheeks in her hands, careful not to scrape any of the scales dotting his cheeks. “All mothers want to make their children happy, Makoto-chan. That includes her.”

Makoto didn't answer but she knew he was thinking about it. That was all she wanted for now anyway. His fear of the ocean had only escalated the moment he began to find out what he was and the mystery surrounding his kind. She blamed the internet and the books, really. It planted so many ideas in his head (summoning storms, bad omens and luring sailors to their deaths to name a few) that she made it a point to tell him that no one could really know these things.

“I don't think I could do it right now... but maybe someday?” Makoto ventured hesitantly, looking up at her through the mermaid's eyes. It was always his answer to this conversation but Nami knew they had to be patient.

“That's all we want,” Nami answered softly, letting him go and taking the tray again, handing Makoto the bowl of fruit. “Here, you eat this and just relax. I'll finish up downstairs, alright?”

Makoto nodded, smiling slightly.

Before she left, Nami planted a kiss on his forehead. “I'm very proud of you, Makoto-chan.”

Makoto sank down into the tub as soon as the door closed behind her. He closed his eyes and thought back to the last couple of days. He didn’t really feel like he did anything to be proud of. His fear, he knew, was irrational. The old man, Rin and Gou-chan's father, the fishermen in that boat, his fish... he'd thought about it long and hard. He knew that a number of things could have caused the accident. The storm, the boat itself... it was not necessarily the ocean's fault but he just couldn't help himself. He feared what the ocean was capable of. He feared the ocean's strength, how it could take away people he cared about so suddenly, how it overwhelmed you with hopelessness and despair as it dragged you further down to its depths until there was nothingness. He feared that feeling of being trapped, of grasping for breath, of struggling against the weightlessness and not really going anywhere.

When he saw Rei struggling, he had made the decision to change form. He hadn't cared if any of his friends found out because all he wanted was to save Rei and he was about to do it when he saw him swallowed by the waves and she was there, a small distance away, illuminated by the flash of lightning. It brought back the memories from before. The storm of that weekend felt like that storm from years ago and had every muscle in his body seize and spasm that even he was dragged underwater, unable to open his gills, to breathe until Haru saved him and took him back to shore. 

The fear was debilitating and it was ingrained too deep that he doubted that he’d be rid of it altogether but his mother did have a point and Makoto knew that he had to move forward, too, for himself. Maybe... just maybe... learning about her and, in turn, learning about himself would make it just a bit easier.

The next several days had been dedicated to the preliminaries that Makoto didn’t have any time to think about anything else but making sure he’s in top form during the competition. There had been a time that he’d been worried about Haru and his loss against Rin but he knew he was going to be alright now and the match with Rin sparked something in him that had been missing for years since Rin went to Australia. 

He was glad. It was great to see the fire in Haru’s eyes again and he hoped that this time, he would find what it was he was looking for when he was swimming. And Rin… he worried constantly about Rin and hoped that he didn’t lose sight of what was important. He knew only Haru could show him something beyond breaking records and winning trophies. He’d had it before, after all, back when they had been younger and Rin’s smiles were wide and carefree. He just had to find it in himself again.

A familiar pang throbbed in his chest and he smiled sadly. Those two… those two needed each other and while he cared very much for them both and loved one of them in every sense of the word, really, they had something that was all their own and he didn’t want to intrude on that. Above all else, he wanted them to be happy and it felt as if they would find the greatest happiness with each other. Haru might just be the balancing calm to Rin's intensity and Rin would be Haru's motivation. They fitted well enough that it left no room for anyone else and he understood that. He would be happy just being by their sides and supporting them as much as he can. 

Still, he couldn't stop the way his heart broke just a little bit no matter how much he had already told himself that Haru would never look at him the way he wanted.

“Makoto-senpai?” Rei's voice called from somewhere far away and he realized that he'd been calling his name for a while now.

He looked worried and so did Nagisa and Gou-chan who were standing behind him, already dressed after a grueling day of practice for Regionals. Haru was still floating in the pool but he could feel Haru looking his way and he shuddered.

“Ah, I'm sorry... I drifted off a little there,” he said with an apologetic chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. 

“Mako-chan, are you alright?” Nagisa asked earnestly., brows furrowed as he skipped in front of Makoto and laid a hand on his forehead. “You've been distracted lately. Are you sick?”

“I'm fine. Just have some things in my mind, that's all,” he reassured them, smiling widely. Though he had more than a lot on his plate including his imminent meeting with his biological mother, he couldn't help but feel bad for making them worry for him.

Nagisa didn't look convinced and Makoto was not surprised. Out of all of them, Nagisa was the most shrewd and he wouldn't be able to hide anything from him if Nagisa wanted to find out what's been bothering him. Sure enough, he opened his mouth to prod a little more but Rei, sensitive and well-mannered to a fault, clapped a hand over his mouth.

“If Makoto-sempai doesn't want to talk about it, then we shouldn't pry,” he reprimanded, winding an arm around Nagisa's waist and dragging him off, the smaller boy protesting the whole way. Rei turned to them all and said, “we'll see you tomorrow,” just as Nagisa let himself free from Rei's hand and shouted his goodbyes.

“I'll be off, too,” Gou added as she watched Rei and Nagisa disappear, giggling a little as the pair started an argument as they left. “See you tomorrow, Haru-senpai, Makoto-senpai.” She bowed and ran off with a beaming smile.

Makoto waved until she was gone and turned to Haru who had just pulled himself up and off the pool. As always, he loved to watch Haru, to admire how at home he was in water, completely entranced as the sunlight glinted off of Haru's wet, dark hair and bare chest, water sluicing down his legs. He shook his head, sending droplets of water splashing everywhere and Makoto smiled, approaching him with fluffy towel.

“Makoto,” Haru called and Makoto smiled at him reassuringly. 

“I'm fine, Haru, don't worry,” he insisted and he allowed himself to be happy just a tiny bit because Haru was worried about him.

“Hn,” he grunted at him quietly. “I'm taking a shower now.”

“Alright. I'll wait for you,” Makoto with a gentle smile though he really didn't have to say it because that had always been their routine. 

He played with his phone to pass the time and by the time Haru came out, dressed up and ready to go, his mother had insisted that Haru join them for dinner which Haru agreed to with a slight nod.

What Makoto didn't know was that, following Regionals, he and Haru would drift apart in the next few years until they barely knew each other.

 

**TBC...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: So... I am still in the plotting stage of this story and I don't really know where I'm going but I might change things here and there but you wouldn't really feel it. I'm still trying to find a good focus on this story and I'm open to suggestions or comments about it. Right now, I am just letting it write itself. 
> 
> Hopefully, it doesn't seem OOC.
> 
> Reviews and comments are appreciated as usual and thanks to everyone who reviewed!


	3. Now or Never

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> EDIT (10/15/13): I wasn't happy with the first part so I changed it. Comments and suggestions are welcome. New in the first part so it's highly recommended that you read it.
> 
> Author's Note: A bit of HaruRin angst at the beginning (not very good at those but hey, I tried). Might be OOC but let us assume that they have changed a little bit after almost ten years.  
> Sorry for the wait.
> 
> Pairing/s: Established HaruRin, Future MakoHaruRin
> 
> Warning/s: Yaoi, OOC!Haru talking about his feelings, Timeskip

**CHAPTER 3: Now or Never**

It was a nice Friday morning and Rin was stuck in his and Haru's apartment cleaning up while the brunette was out getting a few lazy laps around the pool on their supposed day off from training with the national team. Usually, Rin would be right along with him, doing a few laps, probably have a race or two or get a little adventurous in the locker room but the redhead decided to stay home this time.

Of course, cleaning the apartment was just an excuse. Neither of them were slobs despite Haru's annoying habit of leaving the toothpaste on the sink, squeezed right in the middle, when it should be in the medicine cabinet and squeezed neatly from the bottom.

The real reason why he stayed behind was in his and Haru's office. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Their office, which was converted from a second bedroom they didn't need, was brightly lit from the streaming sunlight between the blinds. The walls were white and were full of framed photos of family and friends and there were even framed news clippings and medals here and there. The floor was solid wood, varnished a deep golden brown that he and Haru would painstakingly polish every week. Their desks were standing side by side opposite the door, the desktop computer and the trophy case were off on Rin's side of the room while the bookcase and the display case for various knickknacks they collected over the years were on Haru's. There was a small sofa in the middle of the room and a low coffee table facing the flatscreen tv and DVD/Bluray player propped on the wall.

Rin crossed the room to get to Haru's desk. Where his was, well, not really neat but close enough, Haru's was overflowing with magazines. These were some of the latest batch of Haru's finds from his detour over at the secondhand bookstore down the street. He sighed as he stacked the mostly unused magazines that was all over Haru's desk, brightly colored and glossy pages filled with delectable desserts and savory dishes, almost too beautiful to eat. He picked one of the more recent ones, the one with a three-page spread of an upcoming chef who just came back from a successful apprenticeship with renowned French chef, Joel Robuchon.

"An angel" he was called.

He stared at the very familiar face, from the tousled, olive-green hair to those endearingly droopy, green eyes and that Buddha-like smile. He looked exactly the same except for the wrinkles that had begun to form at the corner of his eyes from age and Rin figured with a tiny smile: too much smiling. He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing the requisite white coat, and beside him was a table laden with food.

This was only one of several shots of Makoto that Haru had collected over the years and there were some interviews that he had read over and over again and Rin wouldn't be surprised if he had it all memorized by now. He had watched Haru stroll down the magazine aisles, scanning the titles and the covers for any information about Makoto that he could find, recording the recent interview with Makoto on TV and playing it over and over again. Haru did try to hide it from him once (though he already knew it by then) but the fact that he had gotten a stack of magazines and their electricity bill for that month was higher than normal had been difficult to hide. Now, it was kind of the secret that everyone knew about but didn't acknowledge. Rin tried to get him to talk about it (boy, did he try) but Haru was just too stubborn that he had clammed up and didn't tak to Rin for days.

When the subject did come up, Haru would brush it off, stating that Rin was the one he chose and he was happy – end of discussion (not something Rin was happy about, really, but it was hard to reason with Haru when he got like that). Tempers would rise because Rin was not going to back down and then they'd end up fighting. What would follow was about a week of reaffirming their relationship where Haru would reassure Rin that what he said was true.

Nothing would be said of Makoto after that.

It was, in Rin's opinion, a sweet yet unnecessary show of loyalty for him.

Sweet because, hey, his boyfriend was basically telling him that he's the only one for him. Unnecessary because Rin was as sure as the sky was blue that Haru was in love with Makoto even after nine years of being apart.

Did it make him feel bad? At first, yeah, just a little. Okay, more than a little. He had been devastated and there was a point in their lives that he considered leaving Haru. Now? Not so much. Before, it was a painful blow to find out that he was not the only one in Haru's heart (water didn't count) but Haru had proven time and again that he loved Rin just as much that he willingly tried to forget about his feelings for Makoto and distanced himself (with decreasing success) no matter how much it hurt him to do so. Rin had to admit that he hadn't really made it any easier on him at the time but that was because they were younger and Rin loved Haru so much that he wanted to keep him to himself.

Now, it was because of that love for him that Rin even entertained this crazy idea in the first place. It wasn't easy to accept and he didn't make this decision lightly but he figured that he wanted Haru to be happy (really happy) and if that meant sharing him with Makoto, then so be it. There were a heck of a lot of worse people in the world Haru could fall in love with and Makoto was as close to a saint anyone had any right to be besides being one of Rin's closest friends (even with the past nine years of no communication between them).

Of course, this didn't mean that the past nine years they shared were miserable. It was hardly that and they were as happy as they could be together. There was just this sense that something was missing. Haru was just too stubborn to admit it, though, so he wouldn't be surprised if he shuts himself away from Rin again which was why there was no going back once he'd decided to do this. Rin knew this was for Haru's own good and he was sick and tired of the pining and the dozens of food magazines Haru collected over the past few years that were mostly unread except for a few pages of Makoto and mackerel recipes.

It was nine years late but it was time to stage an intervention. Haru would never see this coming.

It was suspiciously quiet when Haru got home from the gym. He was early; it was around six o'clock in the evening when he usually finished training (swimming laps in the pool counted no matter what Rin said) around eight because Rin said he had something important to talk about and Haru had better come home. His hair was still a little wet from the quick shower he took and he was wearing an old, orange shirt that seemed far too big for his slimmer frame and an old pair of shorts, his sports bag slung over his shoulder.

He found it odd that he was alone and no Rin welcoming him back. Haru was not one for announcing his presence but he did send a text to Rin and the redhead would usually be waiting for him to arrive. It was one of those things that he looked forward to everyday.

"Rin?" he called out, dropping his bag with a good thump on the floor. He took his shoes off and wandered into their apartment, looking around. Hearing no response, he decided to try for their bedroom and sure enough, Rin was sitting on the bed, his back leaning on the headboard and his knees drawn up. There was a book, no, a magazine on his knees. He looked a little caught up with what he was reading, his red hair tied back with one of Gou's old hair ties and his eyes (and his complete attention) focused on whatever it was about.

Haru shook his head slightly. Rin was extremely hard to talk to when he was reading. It was like he wasn't there anymore.

He and Makoto were similar like that, his brain thought unwittingly before he could stop it and he felt the old, familiar throb in his chest. He gave himself a mental shake.

'I'm with Rin now and I'm happy with him. There's no point in thinking about him,' he chanted to himself but the longer time passed, the harder it was for him to believe it himself.

He tried to take his mind off of... him and took a look around. Everything looked as it should be and despite the urgency in Rin's message, it didn't look like anything important was happening. It was then that he noticed that there were several magazines laid out on their bed, magazines that Haru had collected and treasured. They were open, very familiar pages still visible from where he was standing.

He felt a lurch of dread.

"Oh, hey, you're home," Rin said as he noticed Haru standing by the door. "I didn't hear you come in."

He patted the spot beside him and Haru made his way to him and plopped at his side. He didn't say anything but Rin knew he was freaking out.

"Haru, we need to talk and you are going to listen to me and you are going to answer me honestly, okay?" he said slowly, cautiously. Haru tensed, his jaw hardening stubbornly. Rin knew that look very well. He wound an arm around Haru's waist, pulling him closer and there was some resistance but Haru allowed himself to be pulled and Rin thought that was a good sign that he wasn't going to bolt anytime soon. He kissed the side of Haru's neck. "Just hear me out, okay? I don't wanna fight."

Haru tensed again. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. "Then why do you keep bringing this up?"

"This? Or do you mean Makoto?" Rin asked, his brow raised.

"There's nothing to talk about."

"Yes, there is," Rin insisted gently. "Haru, I know, okay? You've been hiding this from me for nine years and honestly, I want to let it go but not when you're hurting yourself like this." He shifted, turning Haru to face him but Haru wouldn't look at him at all. "You keep telling me there's nothing to talk about but you buy all his magazines, you record his interviews, you research which restaurants he worked at. You think I don't notice?

"How can I move on if you can't?" Silence. Exactly what Rin expected but it still worked in his favor. It meant that Haru was still listening. "Look, I just want you to be happy. If Makoto does, then who am to stand in the middle of that?"

Haru's gaze swiveled to him, eyes wide and panicked. "Are you... breaking up with me?"

Now it was Rin's turn to be surprised. "What?! Hell, no! I'm not breaking up with you!" He knocked his head on the headboard, groaning. "I am not good at this," he muttered to himself before turning to Haru again. "What I'm trying to say is... I'm not against sharing you." Haru's eyes widened further. His jaw hadn't dropped yet which probably meant he was still in there. "I mean, I know you love me and I also know you love Makoto and I'm not opposed to him – but just him, okay? No one else."

Haru could only stare at Rin, speechless, though his heart began to pound in his chest. There was a bit of hope budding in him that he didn't want because Rin probably didn't think about this enough. He couldn't possibly understand what he was telling Haru. Haru had visualized it on numerous occasions and not one of them ended good. Rin was too possessive a lover.

Still, it sounded too good. Rin couldn't possibly understand how it felt to be torn this way for years.

The thing was he loved both of them: equally and intensely that he often felt that his heart was going to burst. Makoto was his rock; the one person he knew who understood him from the inside out, the one person who would pull him up when things get too much, the one person who would tell him everything will be all right and make it so. Rin was his fire; the one who pushes him to go beyond his abilities, the one who makes him see things he'd never seen before, the one who gives him courage to try something new.

Makoto was home – safe and warm. Rin was adventure – unknown and thrilling. He loved and needed Rin but that never stopped him from loving and needing Makoto and neither of them could fill each other's place in his heart.

It was selfish of him but that was how he felt and Rin was presenting him with something that he'd thought was impossible.

"Haru, say something."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Haru stated before he could stop himself. He desperately wanted to believe it, really, but he couldn't when it could just as easily be taken away.

And what of Makoto and Rin? Wouldn't it be awkward?

Rin glared at him. "Yes, I do. I've thought about it for a long time – about nine years in the making, to be exact."

"Are you sure you?" Haru asked. "I don't want you to do anything for me if it's going to hurt you."

"Don't underestimate me. I don't make decisions like this everyday, Nanase, and certainly not for just anybody," Rin assured him. "Makoto is a good man and we'll deal with each other if that's what you're worried about."

"Assuming that he agrees," Haru added. "What if he doesn't feel the same way?"

Rin scoffed. "Please. The guy worships the ground you step on."

"It's been almost ten years, Rin."

"We'll think of a gameplan," Rin said encouragingly. "We'll just have to take it one step at a time. It's not like you have any choice in the matter anyway. I already asked Coach to give us three days off and I asked the cleaning lady to clean your house up. We're going back to Iwatobi next week."

One week later...

"Alright, everyone, our last ticket for the night," Makoto announced, earning a jovial cheer from his team as he waved a piece of paper in his hand. He announced the dishes on the ticket for a family of four and before long, steaming plates and bowls were carried out (with his approval) by the waiters into the dining area.

As soon as the desserts left the kitchen (two slices of chocolate cheesecake with a drizzle of blueberry syrup and fresh blueberries for the kids and spicy hot chocolate for their parents), Makoto felt his shoulders slump in relief, exhausted but satisfied of another good day without any mishaps in the dining area (the kitchen was a totally different story) and compliments from the guests. It was a Friday, the busiest night of his week (he had negotiated weekends off to spend it with his family) and he was looking forward to staying at home, sleeping in for a couple of hours and doing whatever he wanted for the next two days.

It was already past eleven o'clock at night and the restaurant was finally closing after the headwaiter announced that the last guests had finally left the building. Both wait staff and kitchen staff were already busily cleaning up their respective areas. Makoto had already finished up cleaning his space and was helping one of his assistants return some of their ingredients back in the freezer when the doors to the kitchen burst open with two simultaneous slams on the walls, making everyone flinch.

"Good work today, everybody," announced the owner of the restaurant as he stepped inside the kitchen, laughing a little as one of the wait staff jokingly replied to him about the cracks he made on the walls, before he approached Makoto and clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Good job as always, Chef. Keep up the good work."

Makoto beamed at him, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Thank you, Mikoshiba-san, and I will."

Mikoshiba Seijuuro, former captain of Samezuka swim team and retired member of Japan's National Swim team, rolled his eyes playfully at his fellow former captain and slapped him on the back. "Again with the formality, Makoto?"

Bright, golden eyes twinkled mischievously just like it did two years ago when they literally bumped into each other, one rainy day in Tokyo as if Fate wanted them to meet.

"You started it," Makoto replied with a teasing smile, "calling me Chef and all."

Mikoshiba laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did. You never let things get past you, huh? Not as bad as Aiichi though, which is a good thing 'cause that kid is driving me nuts. If there were two of him…" The redhead paused to think and promptly shuddered. "Yeah, that is just horrible."

"Well, he has good reason to," Makoto replied wryly with a shake of his head. "You drove him crazy every day the last couple of weeks."

And wasn't that a big mess? Makoto had happily refrained from getting in the middle of that and the rest of the staff wisely followed his lead. At last week's staff meeting, Mikoshiba had wanted to add new items on their menu that included beluga caviar, blowfish and Alba white truffles in addition to the Wagyu steak cuts that they regularly stocked the restaurant with – simply because he saw them on the internet's list of the most expensive food ingredients. Nitori had shot him down quickly – especially when he was about to start going into Yubari melons – again.

"It wasn't a bad idea though, right?" Mikoshiba asked expectantly.

"Well, no, it's a good idea but Nitori-kun is right that we can't afford them right now."

Blaze Grill and Restaurant was a cozy restaurant serving French and Japanese fusion cuisine. It nestled quite comfortably in Shinjuku (right across the street from Shinjuku National Garden) and only two years old but it was already getting great reviews from critics, food magazines and recently, a TV show. It had both an indoor and outdoor dining area, very spacious and perfect especially in spring when the cherry blossoms could be seen directly across the street. It had a warm and inviting atmosphere: the walls were a cool, very light blue and the tablecloths, the curtains and the napkins were all warm colors in shades of yellow, red and brown. The furniture was made of lacquered wood and the décor were all tasteful French and Japanese art pieces (handpicked paintings, prints, pottery – Mikoshiba apparently had very good taste).

The restaurant had gone through a lot from when it was just an old, abandoned warehouse and Mikoshiba knew exactly which direction he'd be taking it. Makoto admired his tenacity and determination and was happy to find out where this was going to take him in his career as a chef. The only concern was the redhead didn't know how to pace himself when he gets excited about a new idea. Blaze was doing very well, but it still had a long way to go.

Makoto did not envy Nitori his job as the restaurant's accountant (and financial adviser) and admired his patience and resolve. He was very adept in curbing his former captain's recklessness.

"I guess," Mikoshiba said thoughtfully, almost reluctantly, before he beamed at Makoto proudly. "I know we'll get them in the menu someday and Blaze will be recognized all over the world."

Makoto smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure of it."

They paused for a bit as the new dishwasher came in with the newly cleaned plates stacked high over his head, watching in morbid fascination as the teen (a part-time working student) concentrated on putting them on one of the tables. This was a rite of passage for all new employees, something even Makoto did when he got the job as executive chef and he could only speculate what it was for. Even now, Mikoshiba refused to say what he was thinking when he thought of it.

The rest of the staff made sure the path was clear and stayed out of his way but didn't bother to offer help. Chances were, they would spook the kid and cause more damage (like the incident of last year that no one wanted to talk about). The group tensed and even Makoto held his breath as the stack swiveled precariously to one side and everyone sighed in relief simultaneously as soon as he managed to put them on the table without any casualties. There were cheers and laughter, playful slaps on the back as they congratulated him.

The boy was beaming, blushing to his ears as Mikoshiba ruffled his hair for a job well done and Makoto offered him a dessert (a small chocolate cake shaped into a ball that when opened, thick chocolate fudge would be gushing out, spreading to the whipped cream border on the plate) that he took with this awed look on his face, stammering a thank you before he was pushed around by the staff.

Once the ruckus had calmed enough, Mikoshiba broke the silence between them.

"Hey, any plans this weekend?" Mikoshiba asked with a sideways glance, a tiny smirk on his lips.

"The usual," Makoto answered wistfully with a sigh. He couldn't keep the longing in his voice and Mikoshiba chuckled.

"Good," he answered with a nod. "I'm gonna be dropping by for a swim."

With a wink, Mikoshiba strode over to his headwaiter, leaving Makoto shaking his head with a smile and a resigned sigh.

It was already late when Makoto got back home. The lights were mostly off except for the one by the front door and the living room and he was sure everyone was already asleep. He slipped his key in the knob and whispered quiet, "Tadaima!" before he slipped his shoes off, feeling the exhaustion bear down on his shoulders like it usually did now that he was home. He put his shoes away and made sure to lock the door before passing the kitchen, spotting the dinner left for him on the table but decided to put it in the fridge for tomorrow. As much as he loved and preferred his mother's home-cooked meals, he was just so tired that all he wanted was a quick shower and go to bed.

He went upstairs, careful not to make any noise. He went to the twins' rooms before heading to his own, peeking into Ren's room and finding him asleep and curled up on his side then Ran's, where she was sleeping with half her sheets on the floor, her arms and legs thrown about as she slept without a care in the world. He stifled a chuckle and went to his room to grab a change of clothes.

He showered quickly, dressed up in a loose shirt and pyjama pants then went to bed where he lied awake, staring at the ceiling, turning to his side and determinedly closed his eyes, willing himself to relax. There was only so much time left for him to get some sleep until the twins decide to jump on him to get him to wake up. Even at seventeen years old, they still acted the spoiled younger siblings Makoto loved to dote on, having him wrapped around their pinky fingers since the day they were born.

With a sigh and a small smile, he felt sleep claim him and his last thought was how this weekend promised to be a good one. He could just feel it.

"Nii-chan, wake up! Hurry!"

"Mou, nii-chan! It's already late and you have surprise guests!"

Makoto was just about to wake up, hearing the distant voices pulling him from sleep, when the force of two heavy seventeen-year-olds jumped on his back, waking him up quickly. He looked over his shoulder where both Ren and Ran were sitting on him, smiles overly bright at – he peeked at his alarm clock and groaned into his pillow – eight o'clock in the morning. On a Saturday.

As someone who worked until the late hours of the night, Makoto was quickly learning to despise morning people (despite being one in the past) but he couldn't bring himself to scold his younger siblings.

"Ohayou, Ren, Ran," he greeted them with a smile, eyes half-lidded.

"Nii-chan, get up! You won't believe who's here!" Ran urged, pulling at his sleeve.

"Is it Ula?"

"Nope!" Ren chirped.

"Is Nagisa back from Africa already?"

Ran snorted. "Nagisa-san won't be back until next week, Nii-chan!"

"Just get up already so you'll see!" Ren insisted.

Makoto chuckled. "I would but you're both still sitting on me."

The twins scrambled off of him and left him after a sworn oath that he would be downstairs in five minutes or they were going to drag him down themselves. It was really hard to imagine the two as teenagers when they insisted on acting as if they were still eight years old.

He didn't change clothes, didn't really see the point when he wasn't dressed indecently but he did wash his face and brush his teeth before going downstairs.

He could hear his mother's excited chatter, his father asking a question or two between his mother's gushing. Their guests' voices, familiar and greatly missed, did make him stop dead in the hall, frozen for all of three seconds as he let them wash over him, his heart pounding in excitement and forgetting the sadness of being separated for so long.

He took one trembling step after another, afraid that he was just hallucinating but the moment he was in the living room, he could see that they were real.

"Haru? Rin?"

 

 

TBC...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Questions, comments and the like are greatly appreciated. :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: There may be some confusion with me swapping between Mikoshiba and Seijuuro but it all depends on the perspective. For Haru and Rin, he would be Mikoshiba and for Makoto, he’s Seijuuro. I think that would show just how close Makoto and Seijuuro had become.

 Rin and Haru were here in his house. They were here, sitting with his family, talking and laughing as if no time had passed, like they had been doing before they graduated. They were sitting on the couch opposite his parents while the twins squeezed at their sides, asking questions and looking up at them with big, adoring smiles.

Makoto obviously wasn’t the only one who missed them and he watched from afar, smiling as Ren gestured wildly at an attentive Haru while Ran giggled at something Rin said to her. 

The happiness he felt was overwhelming and when they turned to look at him, it was like a physical blow to his chest. They stood up almost by reflex and Makoto didn’t think twice. He didn’t have to when he was just so happy to see them after so long. He crossed over to them, arms raised and them standing near each other made it so easy for him to just wrap an arm around their necks, pulling them to him. He felt an arm wrap around his back and another around his waist, squeezing him in turn and he laughed.

“It’s great to see you two!” He pulled away, keeping them at arm’s length just so he could look – _really look_ – this time at the real thing instead of the pictures in various sports magazines he kept in a box.

Haru was a few inches taller now and just a little bit broader around the shoulders but he was mostly still as slender as before. His hair was slightly longer than what he was used to back in high school and it fell over his face, his eyes soft and still as blue as the ocean he loved so much.

_I’m very happy to see you_ , his gaze seemed to say but Makoto, as happy as he was, didn’t know if he was reading him right anymore. Too much time had passed and an ugly feeling bubbled inside him the more he thought about it (it’s hard to brush nearly ten years of no communication) despite the joy he felt.

He gave himself a mental shake and kept it out of his mind, smiling at him (and worrying that Haru might read that smidgeon of resentment in him) before turning to Rin who had, out of all of them, seemed to change the most.

Rin was taller and broader than Haru now and there was gentleness and mischief in his red eyes that Makoto once feared he had lost completely after coming back from Australia. He was glad that he could see the young Rin he’d met in middle school in the man that stood in front of him now. Rin was beaming, too, and he had always been easy to read, so expressive with every movement that Makoto knew he was also happy but there was that pang again in his chest, the feeling that he’d been abandoned by them. 

That, for some reason, it couldn’t possibly be this easy even if it did feel right to have them here.

“…you boys should stay for breakfast,” his mother was saying, shaking him out of depressing thoughts.

Rin smiled but shook his head. “That’s okay. We don’t want to be a bother,” he said and Haru nodded in agreement at that.

“Nonsense!” Nami said cheerfully, waving a dismissive hand at them, before she clapped her hands together and said, “I’ll start on it right now!”

“I wanna help,” Ren volunteered as he began to follow his mother to the kitchen.

“Me, too!” said Ran as she went after him. 

“No running,” his father called uselessly out to them, shaking his head as his youngest children all but stomped their way in their rush. He turned to the other three left behind with him and clapped a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Well, I have some work I’d rather finish today so I’ll leave you boys to catch up,” he said as he stood up and disappeared down the hall.

The three were left alone in the living room. Rin spared a glance at Haru who hadn’t taken his eyes off of Makoto at all while the taller man watched his mother and brother in the kitchen, probably debating whether he should help them or not. He gave Haru a nudge and tilted his head in Makoto’s direction, smirking as Haru looked at him in alarm even as he felt the unavoidable jealous twinge at the way Haru went right back to staring at Makoto with a content, barely there smile – something he had only seen when Haru looks at him. 

He was genuinely glad to see Makoto, too, of course. He was still taller and broader than either him or Haru but still as gentle when he talks or when he moves. He could sense a change in him but couldn’t figure out what because everything else was just how it was nearly ten years ago. 

His smiles, so familiar and comfortable, made Rin breathe a little easier, now that he knew that their plan had a chance of succeeding. 

Rin had been afraid that Makoto would be angry with them and turn them away (he had good reason to, after all, and Rin wouldn’t blame him). He’d dreaded them coming here without any notice but couldn’t show Haru his apprehension because Haru was already nervous and he had to be strong for him.

He and Haru would have done anything to be forgiven and should they have been unsuccessful, well, at least, they knew that they tried (that’s what he said to Haru but Rin didn’t believe it himself – if anything, he was more determined to succeed). He shouldn’t have been worried, though, because Makoto was still Makoto and while it made him feel selfish to think so, he was glad that he hadn’t changed much.

“What do you guys want to eat?” Makoto asked as he turned to them, smiling softly. “I’d cook for you but Kaa-chan doesn’t let me when I’m here.”

“Saba,” Haru muttered softly before he could stop himself and Makoto laughed.

“I should have known,” he said and while it meant nothing, the innocent words hit them in the wrong way the moment he said it, bringing about the distance between them that they had been ignoring. It became quiet and it didn’t look like anyone wanted to talk despite the many questions that were in their minds.

It just didn’t seem like the best time or place.

Makoto laughed uneasily then cleared his throat. “Well, the good news is we already decided on grilled mackerel for breakfast for old times’ sake.”

“Old times?” Rin repeated with a brow raised.

Makoto shrugged, tension going out of his broad shoulders as they went to a safer topic. “I’ve been experimenting with some recipes when I come here so it’s been a while since we’ve had a traditional breakfast together,” he said, tailing off yet again to a tense silence. 

He was about to say something more, _anything_ , to get the conversation going just as the doorbell rang. Ran sighed as she went out of the kitchen, annoyed. “I’ll get it,” she muttered, sulking. 

They heard the door open and then, “Wai, Sei-nii!”

“Ohayou,” greeted the visitor and his voice was strangely familiar that both Haru and Rin perked up at the sound, trying to remember where they heard it before. 

Makoto’s eyes widened, standing just as they heard Ran and the visitor’s steps get closer. They followed his gaze and suddenly, there was Mikoshiba Seijuuro, standing in front of them with Ran hanging off his arm and holding a bag in her other hand. He stood taller than Makoto, his distinct, wild red hair standing in all directions and he had grown heavier, too, since the last time they saw him compete before retiring. He was grinning wide, as he waved at Makoto, waggling his fingers playfully at him.

“Morning! I brought an offering,” he said, grinning as he tipped his head in Ran’s direction while the girl lifted the bag for Makoto to see.

Rin and Haru shared an incredulous glance with each other, wondering what Mikoshiba was doing here and what his relationship was with Makoto. For a moment, it felt like they were intruding as Makoto approached Mikoshiba and hugged him a second longer than what they thought was necessary.

“You forgot your key again, didn’t you?” Makoto guessed as they parted and Mikoshiba sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, still grinning. “What did you bring this time?” 

“Ice cream,” Ran chirped before looking up at Mikoshiba with suspicious narrowed eyes. “Sometimes I think Sei-nii just likes mooching breakfast because this happens, like, every week.”

“Ran-chan, so mean,” Mikoshiba pouted with a hurt expression on his face, placing his hand over his heart.

The girl rolled her eyes, blushing as she muttered something about going back to the kitchen and did just that.

“She’s right, you know,” Makoto chided him playfully.

“About me mooching?” Mikoshiba asked, smirking. “Of course, she is. She’s a smart girl.” His voice dropped lower as he leaned closer to Makoto. “Got it from her older brother,” he stage-whispered, winking at him cheekily. 

Makoto snorted and shook his head before he remembered that they weren’t exactly alone. “Ah, Seijuuro–”

“Oh, hey, long time, no see!” Mikoshiba greeted Haru and Rin as soon as he spotted them, approaching them and grasping their hands one at a time and giving it a firm shake. “How’s the team doing without me?”

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Breakfast was not as awkward as Makoto expected. Their kitchen and dining room was fairly small so having six adults and two teenagers in one table felt a little crowded but cozy despite the lack of elbow room. His parents shared the space at the head of the table with the twins opposite them while he and Seijuuro sat together opposite Haru and Rin.

His parents asked them what else they’ve been up to, continuing their conversation before Makoto went down to see them and the twins interjected with questions of their own. The last Summer Olympics came up a few times with two gold medals for each of them in their 100M events (butterfly and freestyle, obviously) and two silver for 200M but Makoto already knew that. He had the magazines with a shot of them on the podium. He even had the event recorded and would often play it when he felt down (it all sounded pathetic but he couldn’t stop doing it).

He really wanted to find out about Haru and Rin’s lives beyond what he’d read on the internet or watched on TV but he felt uncomfortable just asking out of nowhere so he let the conversations flow around him and listened instead. Thankfully, Seijuuro was also there and there was no shortage of topics when it came to him – from the swim team’s statistics to last night’s drama episode to the restaurant. 

“You own a restaurant?” Rin asked, surprised.

Seijuuro grinned mischievously. “Yep and this guy over here,” he nudged Makoto with his shoulder, “is my partner.”

Haru’s eyes widened at that but just slightly and whatever that emotion he saw flicker on his face was, it was gone before Makoto could find out what it meant.

“ _Partner_?” Rin repeated skeptically, turning to Haru with an odd look on his face. Why did he look… worried?

“Business partner – in the future, anyway – and head chef of my awesome restaurant,” Seijuuro clarified and it just hit Makoto that Haru and Rin might have misunderstood. Looking at the speculative gleam in Seijuuro’s eyes despite his offhanded way of saying things, he just knew that he meant for them to misunderstand. But why? “You should come visit us some time. Makoto makes a mean mackerel pâté.”

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Haru’s house was a small walk away from Makoto’s – or rather, Makoto’s parents’ house. They had discovered during breakfast that Makoto didn’t live there anymore. He just liked staying the night so he could spend Saturday mornings with his family but other than that, he had his own house close to the beach which made Haru worry though he would never say it out loud (it didn't feel like he had any right). According to his mother, her family owned that house before they decided to move closer to town and Makoto bought it on his own.

“Hey, Makoto,” Haru remembered Mikoshiba say, “you should invite them to dinner tonight or something. They'll be your Guinea pigs for that new menu you're trying out.”

“It's not a new menu, I mean, not really. I just thought I'd try to cook something Italian,” Makoto had replied. “Most of the ones I'm trying are classic dishes.”

Mikoshiba had continued as if he hadn't heard a word. “Dinner under the stars by the beach – pretty romantic, I'd say. Perfect for a double date!”

He had winked at Haru then and while he respected Mikoshiba as an athlete and a former teammate (and one of the few who knew about his and Rin's relationship), Haru had never had the overwhelming urge to punch him in the face so hard.

“Date?!” Makoto had exclaimed, flailing his arms and saying things Haru couldn't recall anymore.

Haru bit his lip, an uncomfortable sinking feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he missed a lot and it made the distance between him and Makoto almost impossible to close. The old familiarity was still there but there were things he didn’t know and it felt wrong to ask when he felt that he should know these things. A long time ago, he'd made it a point to know everything there was about Makoto: his fears, his dreams, his thoughts – _everything_. He didn't have that right anymore, much less to inquire about what his relationship was with Mikoshiba even though Haru felt as if he was drowning, the air getting squeezed out of his lungs at the thought of Makoto being with someone else ( _too late, too late, too late_ chanting in his head).

To even think about acting all friendly now as if nothing happened between them left a bitter taste in his mouth and he just couldn't do it, couldn't ignore that he'd done Makoto wrong by leaving.

It had all seemed logical and simple back then. Following the Regionals, he and Rin had been scouted and made local celebrities. There had been so many offers, so many prospects for their future all of a sudden and Rin and his enthusiasm about being one step closer to his dream swept Haru up like a wave and took him along.

During that time, it made sense for him and Rin to be together after a little fumbling along, trying to find the middle ground because while it had felt natural to fall in love with each other, there was always a struggle between the two of them, a struggle for dominance because of their natures. It took a lot of patience and compromise but they had managed it somehow.

Makoto had been nothing but supportive, guiding them along and putting things in perspective when things got too heated, too difficult.

Before long, graduation was over and he and Rin were off to a university in Tokyo under full scholarships and entering several competitions that allowed them to qualify for the national team. Somewhere along the way, with hectic and heavy training, the chance to do what he loved the most, the new excitement he found in competing and the distance between Tokyo and Iwatobi, he’d forgotten about them. 

He'd forgotten about Makoto. And for some (probably stupid) reason, he hadn’t even tried to reach out. 

Time would pass and Haru was not truly content though his happiness with Rin was real. They’d made a home for themselves and they fit well even if they do argue sometimes but there was always something missing and Haru knew exactly what (or who) it was. A part of himself had always yearned for Makoto (his reassuring smile, his calm, his fears, his corny jokes) and he’d almost ruined his relationship with Rin, who knew about his feelings (feelings that Haru himself couldn’t comprehend) but didn’t quite understand how complex they were, how it was different to Haru’s feelings for him but just as intense. 

He’d been afraid then and it had sealed his decision to forget about the ones he left behind in Iwatobi. He could have stayed in touch with Nagisa and Rei but Makoto was still a large part their lives and he didn’t want to hurt Makoto more than he had to by staying away. He had told himself over and over that it was necessary because he’d been afraid of losing Rin when it seemed that he was the only one left in his life who mattered.

He really didn't know what to do now. On one hand, he desperately wanted Makoto to be a part of his life again given this opportunity. On the other, he felt so selfish, wanting him and Rin at the same time and knowing that he could hurt both of them by going through with this. It was so unfair for the two of them.

A hand closed around his shoulder the moment his foot landed on the last step and he turned around to face Rin.

“Don't worry so much,” he said, rubbing his thumb firmly but soothingly on Haru's shoulder. “Whatever happens, I'm here, okay? We'll make this work.”

Haru nodded and for once since they left their apartment, he felt a little lighter.

**O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O**

Makoto was on his back, floating several inches above the sandy sea floor and lightly swinging his tail up and down as he pushed himself weightlessly through the water, watching tiny fish give him thoughtful stares and light pecks (or kisses according to Seijuuro) before they pass him by and go on their merry way. He was much more relaxed than he was this morning and as the excitement finally simmered down, he began to think about what happened in a rational light.

While he was undoubtedly happy to see them (Makoto was never one for grudges and he'd long ago forgiven them), it just seemed odd that they were here now when they had just disappeared from his life nearly a decade ago. 

Why the sudden appearance? Did Gou know about this and, if so, why didn’t she say anything? Maybe she didn’t know, Makoto thought, or maybe she just didn’t tell him because for some reason, talking about Haru and Rin outside of what information they already had (from the internet, TV or magazines) was taboo. 

Though they didn’t talk as often as their schedules would allow, he, Gou, Nagisa and Rei would try to get in touch and catch up with each other as much as they can. There were times that they would schedule a day that they would just talk (over Skype or something) even if Nagisa was all the way in the South Pole with some penguins or Rei was in his studio, panicking in the middle of a design slump. It wasn’t easy but they made it work somehow.

He'd been hit the hardest when he just woke up one day and realized that neither Haru nor Rin were ever going to talk to him anymore. He had wondered often if they had known, if he had been so transparent about his love for Haru that it became uncomfortable or awkward for them. He'd been afraid that they could be fighting because of him when all he really wanted was for them to be happy.

It had taken a while for him to come out of it. He'd learned slowly how to stand on his own and even felt angry at them for a time (which Gou encouraged because, apparently, it was a healthy reaction). Not angry for himself, but for Nagisa and Rei who did nothing wrong and didn't deserve to be cast aside. Angry for Gou because she was stuck in the middle of all of this.

Makoto had to be honest with himself. Forgiven or not, it had hurt when Haru left and it still did, apparently, but it was easy to return to old habits and he felt like himself again, now more than ever.

He just didn't know how to feel about that.

Drifting along the gentle current and deep in thought, he didn’t notice someone close to him until fingers dug at his sides. “BOO!”

Makoto’s body jerked in response, freezing for just a blink before he nearly jumped out of his skin (and scales). His tail swung down in powerful strokes that got him a good distance away from whatever it was that touched him (his mind hadn’t caught up to him yet), his heart pounding and his eyes wildly looking around.

“That never gets old,” Seijuuro crowed as he held on to his stomach, his deep red tail bent in front of his chest as he laughed loudly, the fish around him avoiding his shaking shoulders and tail, eyeing him warily. He was laughing so hard that he was starting to roll over backwards.

Willing his pounding heart to a steadier rhythm and his gills expanding as he breathed water in and out quickly, Makoto glared at the still laughing Seijuuro who wiped imaginary tears (they were underwater, after all) from the corner of his eye.

“That was awesome!” Seijuuro beamed at him, obviously proud of himself. “Where's Hazuki when you need him and his underwater camera?”

Makoto swam to him, disapproval written all over his face. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”

“Not my fault you're thinking too much,” Seijuuro said as he straightened himself, the frills where his ears should be fanning out in agitation before they settled against the sides of his head, fluttering lightly. He looked at Makoto, really looked, his perceptive gold eyes looking deeply into Makoto's. “You feeling okay?”

Makoto smiled reassuringly. “I'm okay. Just... a little surprised and confused, I guess.”

“I see,” he said and Makoto didn't doubt him because Seijuuro just knew these things (and there may or may not be an incident when Makoto got himself shamelessly drunk and told him everything). “Want my opinion?”

Makoto sighed. “Not that I can stop you from telling me anyway.”

“I’m a hundred percent sure that Nanase wants to do the nasty with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Sorry for being late and I hope it's worth it. Comments and suggestions are welcome.


	5. Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Dinner and realizations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really sorry for the long wait on this story. X.X

_“I’m a hundred percent sure that Nanase wants to do the nasty with you.”_

“Makoto, stop glaring at the helpless tomatoes and just pick the nice ones,” Seijuuro drawled as he stopped behind Makoto, watching the brunette pick countless fruits before putting them back until he found some he was satisfied with.

“I _am_ picking the nice ones,” he replied absently before putting another pretty shiny tomato on his little tray which kinda looked ridiculous (and adorable) because his hands were so big. “It’s why I’m taking so long.”

“Shopping with a chef is a lot of work,” he muttered with mock gravity as he went to Makoto’s side and watched Makoto give the tray over to the nice lady to be weighed and priced, award-winning smile firmly in place as he handed crisp bills from his wallet.

“And we haven’t even gotten to the fish section yet,” Makoto chirped cheekily as he takes the bag of tomatoes and promptly hands it over to Seijuuro who was apparently his designated bag carrier for the day.

“So now I’ve been demoted from your boss to _this_ ,” he mumbled but took the bag anyway, predicting that they would be here for the next couple of hours or so because Makoto was notoriously fussy about fresh ingredients – especially, fish. “This is what I get for telling you the truth.”

“I thought you said I was your _partner_ ,” said Makoto as he moved down a few stalls, eyeing the baskets of fresh greens: heads of lettuce and cabbages and bundles of other leafy vegetables before stopping at one with Seijuuro following behind him leisurely. He greeted several elderly storeowners and customers alike, engaging in a bit of small talk before carefully going through some produce. “And that’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me and had you told me this several years ago, I would have been very upset with you,” he said idly as he picked a random head of lettuce, looked at it for a second then put it back to get another.

Seijuuro had no idea what he’s looking for since all of them look the same to him but he lets Makoto do as he pleased, switching his weight restlessly from one foot to another. “It doesn’t make it any less true,” he retorted as he grabbed the closest head of lettuce that Makoto was pointing at. “I swear Nanase couldn’t stop staring at you. He was looking at you like you came out of the ocean in your birthday suit, riding a freaking seashell.”

Makoto looked up from his careful examination of lettuce and stared at him incredulously.

“What?”

“Out of the ocean and on a seashell?” Makoto repeated, confused more than anything. The image of himself like that popped in his mind and – no. No. He was going to forget ever thinking about it.

“Exactly,” Seijuuro stated, enjoying the blush that rose in Makoto’s cheeks. “It’s like you came out of his kinkiest, not-so-super-secret, water-related fantasies.”

“I do not,” Makoto said with a disapproving frown as he set the head of lettuce down in exchange for another one. “Please remember that he’s in a relationship.”

“So? Doesn’t mean he can’t look, and, _man_ , did he look,” Seijuuro retorted with a playfully suggestive waggle of his eyebrows. He didn’t mention how that stare leveled him for a few seconds when he was close to Makoto.

The brunette looked around him, catching the awkward and curious gazes of other customers who just so happened to hear their conversation. “Seijuuro, not so loud! And he was _not_!” he hissed and Seijuuro relented, scoffing, because this kind of discussion didn’t need to be broadcasted all over town, not with all the little, old ladies watching them curiously from the corners of their eyes and giving Seijuuro the stink eye (because it figured that Makoto was everyone’s sweetheart and he _was_ getting a little upset).

Unexpectedly, it took them less than a couple of hours to finish shopping for lunch (why bother eating out when you can have homemade croque-Madame sandwiches?) and tonight’s dinner even though Makoto did not settle for anything less than the freshest fish he could find. He didn’t get the mackerel (which he honestly thought Makoto would go for) but he got some tuna and salmon fillets instead and Seijuuro might not be a trained chef but even he could tell how absolutely beautiful and fresh they were, all flawlessly pink and peachy in color as they were wrapped in wax paper. After that, a quick trip to the poultry side of the market and they came out with a nice chicken for tomorrow before they had to drop by the grocery store to get a few ingredients for dessert (dessert was gonna be _awesome_ ).

Obviously, shopping went by faster because Seijuuro had stopped badgering him about Nanase or Matsuoka like he really wanted to. Dinner was several hours away though so he had a lot of time to talk to him later in private.

“Just so you know,” Seijuuro started as he placed their groceries in the trunk of his car, “I still think Nanase wants to tap your ass.”

Makoto sighed in exasperation as he went ahead and opened the door to the passenger seat, climbing inside. “Seijuuro, you’re just putting meaning into things. We just missed each other, that’s all there is to it.”

“Yeah, keep telling yourself that. He was so obvious,” the redhead scoffed as he climbed inside and started the engine. Makoto fiddled with the radio, adjusting the volume and changing the channels till he found a song he liked. “He wants you.”

Makoto sighed. “He does not and you’re being ridiculous! His life is perfect and he’s happy.”

“You don’t know that. You haven’t seen them for almost a decade.”

“I would know,” Makoto insisted. “At the very least, I’d _know_ if Haru isn’t happy.”

He tried to think of something to make Seijuuro drop the subject and nearly slapped a hand to his forehead. The answer was so obvious. “Besides, even if that was true – which it’s not, by the way, I don’t know how you can forget but I’m not exactly human.”

“So? My father’s not either but my mother married him anyway,” Seijuuro retorted. “You’re like Nanase’s fantasy come to life. You live in water – or you can if you wanted to, you’re half-fish – that’s like being almost half-mackerel – and you’re _Makoto_. What else could he ask for?”

“I’m not Rin.”

He said it with a sad smile, one that felt resigned and it grated on Seijuuro’s nerves a bit. “God, you are so stubborn,” he pointed out with an exasperated shake of his head. “Can’t wait until I get to tell you ‘I told you so’.”

Makoto closed his eyes, feeling tired all of a sudden as he leaned back and thumped his head on the headrest, before he turned his gaze at the redhead. “Seijuuro, can we just not talk about this? I just want to be friends with them again and get things back the way they used to be, regardless of how I feel.”

“You’re still in love with him, huh?”

Makoto closed his eyes. “It doesn’t really matter anymore.”

The drive was thankfully quiet after that and Makoto kept his eyes on his side of the road, listening to Seijuuro when he started humming. He didn’t say anything more but Makoto knew he’d go back to needling him about this when Makoto’s in a better mood and he won’t stop until he was satisfied.

He couldn’t stop himself from thinking about what the redhead kept on pointing out to him though.

He’d be lying to himself if he said that he didn’t have even the slightest bit of hope that Haru felt the same way for him. Even after all this time, he still hung onto that very little possibility and he hated himself for it because it was a heavy weight that he really wanted to let go of. He’d been carrying it too long and maybe this was what the needed to put everything behind him.

He’d long ago accepted that it wasn’t meant to be and even if Haru did return his feelings, the mere fact that Makoto wasn’t even human, among other things, kept him from acting on it. Haru’s happiness will always come first and he was glad that it was Rin because Makoto trusted him to take care of Haru in ways that he can’t and that was enough.

With that thought in mind, he closed his eyes and dozed off.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

Cooking always made Makoto think. At the moment, he’s obviously thinking of dinner tonight, of spending time with Rin and Haru, hands working almost mechanically as the knife went up and down with a steady, rhythmic clack on the chopping board.

He had just peeled red potatoes for his salad, quartering them and setting them on a bowl for later. Tomatoes were halved, green beans were cleaned and trimmed, hard-boiled eggs were peeled and fresh basil were cut into thin strips and all the while, he was thinking how tonight could possibly go – most of the scenarios end up in disaster in his active imagination.

At least he can guarantee that the food would be satisfactory and Seijuuro would be here so he could keep things from getting awkward.

“This doesn’t look Italian but I like how it looks so far,” Seijuuro commented as he came out from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his neck and hair still wet. He wore a simple, black tank top and a pair of worn denim pants. Bare, toned arms were crossed over his chest as he leaned against the table with his hip, keeping his distance from the kitchen counter as he eyed the ingredients laid out in neat rows.

Dried chili, fresh lemon juice and lime zest joined the growing list then some crème fraiche which he knew Makoto made from scratch.

“You don’t even know what I’m making,” Makoto says wryly with a roll of his eyes.

“I know for sure it’s gonna be great,” the redhead says with a waggle of his eyebrows. “You’re gonna knock their socks off.”

Makoto hoped so as he glanced at the wall clock hanging above his refrigerator. Dinner with Haru and Rin was at seven, a little over two hours from now. It was enough time to prep his ingredients, get ready and cook the food since he already finished dessert and it was cooling in the fridge.

He wasn’t as unaffected as he was making himself out to be though. His palms were already sweaty and he had to wash his hands and dry it with a clean rag while he worries his bottom lip. He was anxious but he pours all the nervous (and hopeful) energy out in his cooking and hopes that they enjoy his food if nothing else.

“Hey, you okay?” Seijuuro asked, concerned.

“Just a little nervous,” Makoto confessed, smiling awkwardly.

“That’s understandable. Listen, don’t pressure yourself, okay? We can always cancel, if you want.”

“It’s fine,” Makoto shook his head. “I don’t know what I’d do without you, Seijuuro, so thank you.”

Seijuuro beamed at him, full of encouragement. “Yeah, well, it’s nice to be appreciated. You’re welcome. And no homo, man. We’ve been down that road before and it never really worked for us.”

“Yeah,” Makoto replied and he couldn’t help but think how easy it would have been if it did.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

Haru was not nervous. He really wasn’t. So why did his hands shake? Why did his stomach feel like there’s a terrible weight pulling it down?

This was a bad idea. It’s too soon for something like this. Maybe they should just cancel.

“Haru, _breathe_.” And he did, his shoulders losing the tension that had them bunching up without him noticing. Rin was in front of him now with fire in his eyes and a determined set to his jaw. He grasped Haru’s shoulders and looked at him straight in the eyes. “It’s gonna be fine. It’s just dinner, okay? Not the end of the world.”

Haru nodded but he still didn’t feel confident. It was strange because, until Rin and now, Makoto, Haru never felt this degree of anxiety and uncertainty before.

He looked at Rin, at the confident and supportive grin on his face and he is Rin didn’t need to do this. Rin shouldn’t be this kind or understanding when he’s aware that Haru’s more or less planning to cheat on him with one of their best friends. It didn’t make any sense at all but Rin looked supportive even though he didn’t really tell Haru how he felt about all this other than how he’d be okay if it was Makoto. Somehow, Haru still couldn’t believe it was possible.

“You ready?”

“Hn.”

“You got the address, right? All I know is that it’s pretty close to the beach.”

“I know where it is.”

“Good. Just don’t jump in the water, okay?” Rin paused thoughtfully. “Actually, maybe you should. Makoto probably misses that about you.”

Rin chuckled as Haru stared at him flatly, holding his hands up. While it annoyed Haru and he knew it amused Rin, he had to admit that he felt a bit less nervous than before and he followed Rin out of the house then took the lead. Walking was calming for Haru and he gradually became relaxed enough to actually enjoy their walk and grow more excited rather than terrified at the prospect of dinner (though it still burned at the back of his mind).

Makoto’s house wasn’t too far away but it did take them a while to get there on foot. It was not on the beach itself but it was very near to it. It stood on partly the sand and partly on a rocky outcrop facing the sea, the same outcrop that hid a very small and relatively unknown cave underneath. It had two floors, the first floor resting on white sand while the second floor’s deck was on the outcrop itself.

Haru couldn’t remember it well but he knew that it didn’t look this new. The paint was a warm, creamy color and there was a path of large, flat rocks that led to a flight of stairs to the second floor. Once they were certain there wasn’t a door, they climbed up the stairs and were welcomed by the wafting scent of herbs in the ocean breeze.

The deck had a roof and took nearly half of the second floor. There was light but it was dim enough so it wouldn’t attract attention. The place was neat but there were a few displaced slippers here and there and a grill in the corner. It had a row of plant boxes overgrown with a variety of fresh herbs and tiny flowers on one side and opposite the boxes were a couple of garden chairs, a low table and a hammock. There were colorful rugs and pillows strewn about even on the floor and various books were piled on the table.

They took careful steps to the door, eyeing the worn mat dotted with dozens of small paw prints and the huge ‘Welcome!’ written on it.

“It’s Makoto’s place, alright,” Rin said with a fond grin and a slight shake of his head as he rang the doorbell.

A small smile played at the corners of Haru’s lips as he looked at the mat then gazed around the deck yet again, spying a stuffed mouse and a couple of balls of yarn peeking under the chairs and the table. His somewhat good mood plummeted though as the door opened with a barely audible creak and he found his former captain, grinning and slightly underdressed in a tank top.

“Hey,” he greeted as he opened the door fully and stepped away to let them through. “You guys are just in time. Makoto’s just about done plating.”

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

Rin toed his shoes off and placed them beside Haru’s, slipping his feet into cotton slippers that Mikoshiba dropped on the floor before he took his few steps inside. He waited for Haru, taking his hand and squeezing it reassuringly before leading the way inside.

He looked around and the only thought that ran through his mind was how much the house was just so… _Makoto_. It was warm and inviting with its yellow walls, hardwood floor and furniture with tiny splashes of color here and there.

The second floor was an open space with the living room, dining room and kitchen rolled into one and it’s safe to say that Makoto’s bedroom was probably below them. On Rin’s right was a dark red couch with a quirky quilt made from sewn-up patches of cloth over its back and some pillows that were haphazardly positioned as if someone had recently sat on it and it came with two similar chairs and a low coffee table. The wall behind the couch had a row of bookshelves that were filled with books, picture frames and random items while the front had the flat screen TV and a messy stack of DVD cases.

On his left was the dining table, made of wood and large enough to fit six people and already decked out in fancy place settings. There were two platters with what looks to be salad and rice and a bottle of white wine was set aside and suddenly, he had to remember that they weren’t in high school anymore.

Behind that was the center island that separated the dining area from the kitchen and Makoto was there, sprinkling herbs on plates with a little furrow on his brow and for a moment, Rin had to just watch him as Haru surely was if the sudden motionlessness behind him was any indication.

If Makoto was fit before, he was doubly so now. It wasn’t so obvious before with that large, worn shirt that he was practically swimming in but there it was. He was leaning on the counter slightly, wearing a dark, green turtleneck sweater that stretched obscenely over his broad shoulders and chest with its sleeves pulled up to his elbows, exposing the firm muscles of his arms and his gentle hands. He should have looked ridiculous wearing the frilly blue apron with a pink killer whale embroidered at the front but he managed to look both manly and adorable.

But the icing on the cake? It was when he looked up at them, eyes crinkling at the corners in that same breathtaking smile that hasn’t changed a bit, happy and welcoming.

Rin had to remember to breathe.

‘ _Oh, fuck_ ,’ he thought to himself almost immediately.

**meru meru meru Page Break meru meru meru**

**AUTHOR’S NOTE:** So, it’s been a long time since my last update. I’m so sorry. Life happened and work happened and I just never had the time to work on it.

As always, comments are appreciated.

 

**Recipe Information:**

# Salad Recipe: Grilled Salade Niçoise

##### For the dressing:

  * 1 Tbs. minced anchovies (about 4)
  * 1 clove garlic, minced
  * 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
  * 4 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  * 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  * Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper



##### For the salad:

  * 8 to10 small red potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size 
  * 1 large red onion, peeled and sliced 1/2 inch thick
  * 2 plum tomatoes, halved
  * 1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed
  * Extra-virgin olive oil
  * Kosher salt
  * 1 to 1-1/2 lb. fresh tuna
  * Freshly ground black pepper
  * 6 oz. Boston or bibb lettuce
  * 4 anchovy fillets
  * 2 Tbs. drained capers
  * 4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and halved
  * 1/4 cup Niçoise or other good-quality black olives
  * 1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips



##### Make the dressing:

In a food processor, pulse the anchovies, garlic, mustard, and lemon juice until combined. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil, a few drops at first, and then in a slow, steady stream. Season with salt and pepper

##### Grill the salad:

Heat the grill. Lightly coat the potatoes, onion, tomatoes, and beans with oil and sprinkle with salt. Lightly brush the tuna with oil and sprinkle with salt and a little pepper. Grill the potatoes over medium-low heat and cook until they’re fork-tender and roasty looking, turning occasionally to keep them from sticking, 30 to 35 minutes total. Put the onion, tomatoes, and green beans on a medium-high part of the grill. Grill the vegetables until they’re lightly charred and tender, moving the ingredients around so they don’t overcook. The onions will cook in 10 to 15 minutes, the tomatoes in 5 to 8 minutes, and the beans in 4 to 6 minutes. As the vegetables come off the grill, transfer them to a tray or a jellyroll pan, drizzle with dressing, toss lightly, and cover with foil to keep warm.

Meanwhile, grill the tuna over medium-high heat until it’s slightly pink in the center, about 6 seconds per side. Let it cool for a few minutes and slice. Line four salad plates with the lettuce and arrange the grilled vegetables and tuna on top. Garnish with the anchovies, capers, eggs, and olives. Drizzle with a little more dressing, sprinkle with the basil, and serve.

# Main Course: Grilled salmon with chilli glaze & lime crème fraiche

## Ingredients

  * 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
  * 1 small onion, cut into thick slices
  * 1 ancho chili or large red dried chili, deseeded and trimmed
  * 4 tbsp soft brown sugar
  * 4 tbsp cider vinegar
  * 4 x 150g skinless salmon fillets
  * 1 lime, zested, then cut into wedges
  * 200g crème fraîche or soured cream
  * chopped coriander, to serve (optional)



## Method

  1. Blacken the whole garlic and the onion slices on all sides in a large, dry non-stick frying pan. Remove, cool briefly, then peel the garlic cloves. Soak the ancho chili in boiling water for 15 mins, drain, then place in a blender with the sugar, cider vinegar, garlic, onion and some salt and pepper. Whizz to a smooth sauce.
  2. Heat the grill. Brush each salmon fillet liberally with the sauce and save any remaining. Grill for 8 mins. Meanwhile, mix the lime zest with the crème fraîche. Serve the fish with extra chili sauce, a dollop of the crème fraîche and lime wedges for squeezing over. Sprinkle with coriander, if you like, and serve with green beans or rice and a salad.



# Dessert: Chocolate Irish Whiskey Cake

##### For the cake layers

  * Unsalted butter for the pans
  * 10-1/8 oz. (2-1/4 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour
  * 2 cups granulated sugar
  * 2-5/8 oz. (3/4 cup) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
  * 1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
  * 1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
  * 1 tsp. table salt
  * 2 large eggs
  * 1 cup whole milk
  * 1/2 cup canola oil
  * 1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  * 1 cup hot coffee



##### For the coffee-whiskey whipped cream

  * 1 Tbs. instant espresso granules
  * 1/4 cup Irish whiskey, such as Jameson
  * 3 cups heavy cream
  * 3 Tbs. packed dark brown sugar



##### To finish the cake

  * 1 4-oz. block semisweet chocolate (about 1-inch thick), at room temperature
  * 1 4-oz. block white chocolate (about 1-inch thick), at room temperature



##### Make the cake

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Butter three 9x2-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment. Butter the parchment.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl, using an electric hand-held mixer), briefly blend the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla and mix at low speed, scraping the bowl as necessary, until the mixture is thick and creamy, like chocolate frosting, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running, gradually add the hot coffee, mixing at low speed just until combined. The batter will be quite thin. Divide the batter equally among the pans.

Bake, switching positions and rotating the pans halfway through, until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few crumbs clinging to it and the center feels firm to the touch, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans on racks.

##### Make the coffee-whiskey whipped cream

Clean and chill the mixing bowl and whisk attachment. In a measuring cup, stir the instant espresso into the whiskey until completely dissolved. In the chilled bowl, whip the cream, brown sugar and whiskey mixture on medium-high speed until medium peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes.

##### Finish the cake

Run a thin knife around the inside edge of the cake pans and turn the cakes out onto a large cutting board; peel off the parchment.

Transfer one layer to a cake plate and spread a third of the whipped cream on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border; repeat with the second layer. Put the top layer in place and spread the remaining whipped cream out to the edge.

To make the chocolate shavings, put a piece of waxed paper or foil on a baking sheet. Microwave each block of chocolate on medium power for 20 to 30 seconds to soften slightly, then draw a vegetable peeler along the chocolate bar’s edge, letting the curls fall onto the waxed paper. Make enough curls of both colors to top the cake generously, 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 oz. each. Refrigerate the shavings to make them easier to handle.

Arrange the shavings on top of the cake and serve.

##### Make Ahead Tips

The baked cake layers can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for 1 day.

The assembled cake will hold for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, comments appreciated and as a treat... I added the recipes for their dinner.

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Okay, that's done. I've always had a fascination for merfolk and while I understand that in Free! The usual choice as our merman could be Haru or Rin, well, I wanted something different.
> 
> Questions and comments are welcome. :)


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